⁹ During the battle Absalom came upon some of David’s men and as he fled^[a] on his mule, it went beneath the thick boughs of a great oak tree, and his hair caught in the branches. His mule went on, leaving him dangling in the air. ¹⁰ One of David’s men saw him and told Joab.

¹⁴ “Enough of this nonsense,” Joab said. Then he took three daggers and plunged them into the heart of Absalom as he dangled alive from the oak.

²⁴ David was sitting at the gate of the city. When the watchman climbed the stairs to his post at the top of the wall, he saw a lone man running toward them.

²⁵ He shouted the news down to David, and the king replied, “If he is alone, he has news.”

As the messenger came closer,